In Albanian they're just called "majmune", meaning "monkeys" - the word used for any soft toy...
Is it to do with religion? I ask. But whether the answer comes from a Muslim or a Catholic, it's the same - a shrug. "Religion isn't important," says one man....
"It stops the evil eye seeing our money," says one man outside his bustling furniture workshop. He is pleased to talk to me, full of reminiscences of his time working in London's Gloucester Road four years ago. He explains that at first he hadn't hung a monkey up when he was building this place. "And then the police came. They were causing trouble. My son went out and bought a monkey and we've not had any trouble since."
২ আগস্ট, ২০১৫
"The weather-beaten forms of cuddly toys hanging from buildings are a common sight in Albania."
"Who put them there, and why?"
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And then the police came. They were causing trouble. My son went out and bought a monkey and we've not had any trouble since.
Hmmm. Sounds like it might be a signal meaning "Bribe paid in full."
Clarification- "bribe" should be "protection money."
The common culture is dead animal toys. Hmmm?
Somehow coming to believe that I would do well to display some sort of tangible symbol of my education, affluence and accumulating years -- and being a reflective sort of person -- I thought it high time that I acquired a memento mori.
The wife put the kibosh on a human skull, so it turned out to be a Lucky Cat.
Looks pretty good on top of the the entertainment unit, if you ask me.
The author of this story is infected with a strange literalism. Majmune, though translated as monkey, clearly means something more than that. Nonetheless, the author relentlessly refers to them as monkeys throughout the remainder of the story. The literal translation does not do the word justice. Likewise the reference to "Catholic." When an Albanian refers to his self as Catholic, it's of the Albanian Orthodox, not the Roman variety.
We have a Teddy bear given to us at a place we stayed in New Zealand. All he does is lounge around the house and watch footy.
I think Sydney nails it.
We used to have a toy monkey that would squeal when squeezed or thrown. The dog was afraid of it. After a while, all we had to say was, "You're gonna get the monkey !" and he would behave. I can't find it anymore. I think he buried it.
"The Albanians are . . . different," says a friend's Croatian mother.
Remember when it was trendy to throw an old pair of sneakers tied together by their laces on power lines?
They tell the tourists that they are old cuddly toys. Many of those cuddly toys are, in fact, the desiccated bodies of Hoxha's opponents. It sends a message.
Albanians aren't weirder than Americans, at least in that respect. What explains the stuffed animal dangling from the rear of so many cars and pickup trucks? A very few seem to be abused - half sucking out of the trunk or something, but most are just hanging there, getting sootier and dirtier with the miles.
Wiki says 7% 0rthodox and 10% Catholic but that the Albanian Orthodox Church says 24% Orthodox.
EDH,
I moved to Texas in 1998. There were several pairs of sneakers hanging from the wires. Also a pair of combat boots. The boots lasted for about 4 years and then disappeared off the wire. They were pretty weathered by then so I think the strings rotted to the point the boots fell into the street.
Marc Puckett,
My source is my Albanian daughter. But what would she know?
A great place for geographic stats is the CIA (yes That one) World Factbook at cia.gov. Their religion stats mirrior those of Wiki; so they may be Wiki's source. Wouldn't be a hoot if it were the other way around.
However, when I checked Albania a decade ago, I recall the percent Albanian Orthodox was more in line with your latter source. Perhaps the CIA has changed their Albania analyst. Could they have fallen prey to the same potential terminological confusion?
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